Priceline Hotel: 3* St Petersburg-Clearwater (Clearwater) Radisson

[Golf]

I am currently trying to nail down a hotel in the Clearwater / St Pete (possibly Tampa) area for Saturdaynight April 8th.

Can someone help me to think of a bidding strategy for 2.5* in Clearwater/St Pete? Below the details.

My preference would go to a 2.5*-hotel, of which only two have been reported in the Clearwater/St Pete area(Central):

- Residence Inn (119 USD hotel website)

- Courtyard Inn (129 USD hotel website)

(Note: the 3*-Radisson Clearwater Central has a lowest rate on their website of 84 USD. How big are the chances of being upgraded to this 3*-property??)

Our absolute maximum bid would be: 60 USD

Free-rebids: South St Pete

Not-free rebids: Clearwater Beach, St Pete Beach (Note: all acceptable, since they have 3* properties which quote much higher rates on their websites than above mentioned 2.5* hotels and IF we would be so lucky to receive one of those, this would be acceptable).

All help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[blindman]

Note: the 3*-Radisson Clearwater Central has a lowest rate on their website of 84 USD. How big are the chances of being upgraded to this 3*-property??)

Probably very good (or bad...)

Depends on the PL rate for this hotel compared to the 2.5*'s. Of course we don't know that :) .

Bids of around $50 seem to win the 3* whilst the 2.5* can be got for $45 so a tight call.

IMHO I would say you'll get the 3* unless it's fairly full and the 2.5*'s aren't.

At least you are aware of this pitfall :)

Is there anything similar on Hotwire so you can guage the rate??

[Golf]

Is there anything similar on Hotwire so you can guage the rate??

Yep, there is a 3*-hotel for 66 USD in Clearwater.

Amenities: Restaurant, Pool, Fitness, Business, Laundry

And a 2.5*-hotel for 114 USD.

Amenities: Breakfast, Pool, Fitness, Laundry

I am not sure however how Hotwire rates their hotels and whether the Courtyard and Residence are rated as 2.5* or perhaps 3*, and some others may quality as 2.5* on Hotwire instead of 2* on Priceline (such as HI).

You indicate that if the Radisson is fairly full, there might be a higher chance of winning a true 2.5* hotel. Would it be wise to wait with bidding (especially since it is not last-minute at the moment, still a month to go), also considering the new 24h rebid policy of Priceline?

Besides that, I am still thinking about a bidding strategy since this 3* Radisson would also be acceptable, although I prefer the Courtyard or the Residence... :)

Thanks!

[blindman]

You indicate that if the Radisson is fairly full, there might be a higher chance of winning a true 2.5* hotel.

That is just my (non expert) opinion, I could be wrong :o

Theruare is the bidding strategist :) I'll leave that for him :)

[thereuare]

With the Radisson at only $84/nite i would not think that they are anywhere near full... in fact the hotel is probably quite empty.

If you'd like us to suggest a bidding strategy you'll need to clarify which zones are acceptable to you as i'm a bit confused. This thread started off with just the Clearwater zone, but then you mentioned the zones which are not re-bid zones which are also acceptable to you if you get upgraded, so i'm not really sure exactly where it is you want to stay. If you can clarify we'll suggest a strategy to follow.

[Golf]

Sorry for the confusion.

Preferred zone: Clearwater

Acceptable zones: Belleair, Clearwater Beach, St Pete Beach/Treasure Island.

Free re-bid 2.5*: South St Pete

Hope this is more clear! :)

[thereuare]

Do you want to go up to your maximum for Clearwater before adding the other zones OR are you looking for the least expensive among the zones listed above, with Clearwater being your first choice (but would settle on any of the others if it was less expensive)

You're looking for a 2.5* hotel in any of the zones?

[Golf]

According to my research, there are no 2.5* properties in the other zones... :)

If they would come up, unexpected, they would be acceptable, but I don't expect this.

This is however 'confirmed' by Priceline, as they do not offer to select in those zones a 2.5* hotel, only the option to select 3 or 2 star.

I do not want to go up to my maximum for Clearwater, but I am looking for the least expensive option among the zones indeed. Whether this be a 2.5* or a 3* hotel, that does not matter. I selected the Clearwater zone as preferred zone as the prices stated on the hotel websites are the lowest in those acceptable zones.

Since I'd like to nail down the least expensive option, I have searched for as much acceptable zones as possible to create the most rebids (by permutations).

[thereuare]

So in summary...

You're willing to bid at the 2.5* on Clearwater, Belleair, Clearwater Beach, St Pete Beach/Treasure Island with a $60 maximum bid?

As a side note, i wouldn't count on the hotel zone with the lowest direct rates to necessarily be the zone that always accepts the lowest bid.

[Golf]

So in summary...

You're willing to bid at the 2.5* on Clearwater, Belleair, Clearwater Beach, St Pete Beach/Treasure Island with a $60 maximum bid?

Yes.

As a side note, i wouldn't count on the hotel zone with the lowest direct rates to necessarily be the zone that always accepts the lowest bid.

I understand. However, all 3* hotels in the selected zones are also acceptable if we would be upgraded, although I still expect to receive something in the Clearwater zone given the price difference :) . We'll see if that turns out to be the case...

Thanks!

[thereuare]

Here is a suggested strategy based upon your assumptions and what you're trying to do:

Select 2.5* Clearwater...

Bid $40, if rejected add Belleair...

Bid $45, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and Clearwater Beach...

$48, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island...

$51, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and Belleair and Clearwater Beach

Bid $54, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and Belleair and St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island

Bid $56, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island

Bid $58, if rejected close browser and re-access priceline however you did previously.

Select 2.5* Clearwater and Belleair and Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach/Treasure Island

Bid $60.

Any questions feel free to ask.

Good Luck and let us know how it goes.

[Golf]

Thanks for the suggested strategy.

This went very fast, I started bidding as described and received a counter-offer at 48 USD to raise 14 USD.

Considering the number of re-bids still available, I decided to ignore the counter-offer and continue bidding with 2 USD steps. The next bid was already bulls-eye!

Your Offer Price: $50.00

Number of Rooms: 1

Number of Nights: 1

Subtotal: $50.00

Taxes & Service Fees:

$13.24

Total Charges: $63.24

We got upgraded to (surprise surprise) the 3* Radisson Clearwater Central. :)

I am happy and thanks for the support. Used the savingsbarn link as always.

[thereuare]

Glad it worked out for you within your budget.

Thank you for using the PRICELINE links at SavingsBarn.com to begin your bidding.

Have a great stay!